Creamy mushroom, leek and chestnut pie by Jo Pratt

Jo Pratt

Jo Pratt

13th November 2017
Jo Pratt

Creamy mushroom, leek and chestnut pie by Jo Pratt

The combination of mushrooms, leeks, chestnuts and thyme are bound together in a silky smooth sauce using fortified Madeira wine, porcini mushroom stock and my wildcard… tofu. Not only does the tofu keep the fat content lower than if you used cream, it also gives a big hit of protein too.

Ingredients

  • Time taken 1 hour 15 minutes + 30 minutes soaking / Serves 4
  • 20g/¾ oz dried porcini mushrooms
  • 300g/10½ oz silken tofu
  • 40g/1½ oz butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g/7 oz chestnut mushrooms, halved
  • 250g/7 oz portabella mushrooms, thickly sliced
  • 2 large leeks, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 200g/7 oz ready-to-eat chestnuts, roughly chopped
  • approx. 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 80ml/2½ fl oz/1/3 cup Madeira wine
  • 2 tsp sherry vinegar
  • 375g/13 oz all-butter puff pastry block
  • flour, for dusting
  • 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk (egg wash)
  • pinch poppy seeds (optional)
  • flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
Place the porcini mushrooms in 400ml/14 fl oz/12⁄3 cups of boiling water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.
Put the tofu and reserved porcini liquid into a blender or food processor and blitz until completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Melt half of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and fry the chestnut mushrooms and portabella mushrooms until they have browned and softened.
Remove from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium–low, add the remaining butter and sauté the leeks for a few minutes until softened and just starting to colour.
Stir in the porcini mushrooms, fried mushrooms, garlic, chestnuts and thyme. Cook for about 1 minute. Mix the cornflour into the Madeira wine to make a loose paste, then add to the pan along with the tofu and porcini ‘cream’. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3–4 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a pie dish or individual dishes and leave to cool slightly.
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until just a little bigger than the dish/dishes. Brush a little egg wash over the rim of the dish/dishes and sit the pastry on top, pressing the edges to seal. Brush the top with the egg wash and scatter with poppy seeds (if using). Pierce a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape when cooking and sit on a baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and nicely golden. Rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
Flexible
This is too good to mess with really, but if you have leftover roast chicken, turkey or diced ham you want to use up, reduce the mushroom quantity accordingly and stir the cooked meat through the sauce at the end.

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